The Crawfish Boxes Jul 20, 2019
Four Astros homers give Mike Minor major problems. Astros beat Rangers 4-3
Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports Back-to-back-to-back Stros homers in the third give Verlander support he needs for twelfth win If it wasn’t for home run luck, the Astros wouldn’t have had any luck at all tonight. They could only muster seven hits, but the four home runs among them were the margin of victory over the Rangers. Not that all the home runs were exactly lucky. Especially not this one by Yordan Alvarez. Back⚾️To⚾️Back⚾️To⚾️Back Altuve HR ▶️Bregman HR ▶️Alvarez HRRemember to join us after the game for #Astros Postgame with @JuliaMorales &...
Lone Star Ball Jul 19, 2019
50-47 - Rangers lose dinger duel to Astros 4-3
Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via The Rangers fought back late but couldn’t overcome Houston’s four early solo home runs Mike Minor and Justin Verlander dueled tonight in what ended up being a very baseball-in-2019 kind of game where the Astros jumped on Minor for four solo home runs — including three in the bottom of the third — before the Rangers finally got to Verlander with a couple of solo bombs themselves in the top of the sixth. In total, the two top starters combined to strike out 22 batters (Minor 10, Verlander 12) with the difference in this one mostly...
The Crawfish Boxes Jul 19, 2019
Game Thread 99, July 19th, 2019, 7:10 CDT, Rangers vs. Astros.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports A match-up of All-Star pitchers as the Astros return home from a rough road trip. Join the discussion. Wasn’t the trip to Anaheim full of drama and excitement? The Astros couldn’t make the opener concept work for them in games 1 &2 in LA, and they couldn’t score much on those nights either, getting clobbered in both games. (literally and figuratively, right Jake?) But it all came together on the last two nights, behind Verlander and Miley, with the Astros outscoring the Angels 17-4 in those games. Bad karma to the Angels for throwing at...
Lone Star Ball Jul 19, 2019
Texas Rangers lineup for July 19, 2019: Guzman sits again
Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Ronald Guzman is on the bench again today against Houston righty Justin Verlander Texas Rangers lineup for July 19, 2019 against the Houston Astros: starting pitchers are Mike Minor for the Rangers and Justin Verlander for the Astros. The Rangers start a three game set at Houston tonight, and have Ronald Guzman on the bench yet again, despite the Astros starting a righthanded pitcher in Justin Verlander. The lineup: Choo — LF Santana — 1B Elvis — SS Gallo — CF Pence — DH Nomar — RF Odor — 2B Cabrera — 3B Mathis — C
The Crawfish Boxes Jul 15, 2019
Astros Open Forum: What will the Astros do about the rotation?
We’re down to three starters and ya need five. And guess who’s nippin at the Stros’ heals again in the AL West? What to do? On opening day the Astros looked reasonably strong in the starting rotation. Cy Young candidates Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole were the headliners. Wade Miley was coming to Houston after a strong season at Milwaukee last year. Brad Peacock and Collin McHugh, veterans with proven track records of success, rounded out the 4 and 5 positions. And then there was the depth in the minors. Forrest Whitley would surely be the Walker Buehler of 2019, Josh James would be...
The Crawfish Boxes Jul 15, 2019
Astros Will Use the Opener Tonight vs. Angels
The bullpen will be used a lot over the next two games. The Houston Astros have found themselves in a position that they did not think would happen. They have a starting pitching problem. After the 2018 season, where they had dominant starting pitching, it’s apparent that they have two holes in the rotation behind the top three pitchers. AJ Hinch has already split Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander up in the rotation with Wade Miley. It was expected that Brad Peacock was about to rejoin the rotation, but he had an injury setback meaning he would not start today. The Astros went into the...
The Crawfish Boxes Jul 14, 2019
Astros’ bid farewell to Globe Life Park with a statement. No mercy. Altuve slam crushes Rangers 12-4.
Altuve slam, Gurriel homer, Verlander 7 K’s bury the boys from the Ballpark in Arlington in Astros’ final game there. After losing the first two games in this series, today the Astros were cooking up a hot, tasty dish called revenge for the boys from South Oklahoma. And just when it seemed finished, then bang, Jose Altuve decided to spice it up with a heaping helping of humiliation just for good measure. His seventh inning grand slam, the main blow in a seven run inning, buried whatever slim chances the Rangers might have had to make an Astros-like miracle comeback. But wait, then Yuli...
SportsDay Jul 14, 2019
How the Rangers squandered a big opportunity over the weekend with series split vs. Astros
ARLINGTON -- The Rangers opened the second half of the season with back-to-back wins over the Houston Astros, creating a very-possible opportunity to not only beat the American League West leaders, but sweep them. Opportunity, missed. On Sunday, a day after losing 7-6 in 11 innings, the Rangers fell behind early and could never catch up against Astros ace Justin Verlander, leading to a 12-4 loss and a series split. “After the second game my mentality was to sweep them,” said Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. “It was to win all four, especially since we’re in a race. When you face the...
Lone Star Ball Jul 14, 2019
50-44 - Rangers annihilated by Astros in 12-4 finale loss
The Silver Boot is slipping away Coming into this series, the game where the Rangers looked like the biggest underdogs was today’s finale where Ariel Jurado was pitted up against Justin Verlander. Sometimes it’s the games where you think a team has little chance that they actually come out and surprise with a win. Today, uh, wasn’t one of those days. Instead, following a 12-4 loss, the Rangers will have to settle for a series tie against AL West leading Houston. Player of the Game: Phillips Valdez was probably the best Ranger on the field today. No offense to Phillips Valdez, but that...
The Crawfish Boxes Jul 14, 2019
Game Thread 94. July 14th, 2019, 2:05 CDT. Astros vs. Rangers
Justin Verlander goes for the split in Arlington. Join the discussion. It turns out the baseball gods are forgiving too. After seeming to do everything they could to lose yesterday’s game, three errors in the field, three errors on the bases, the Astros continued to fightand took a tough extra inning victory away from the Rangers yesterday, 7-6. Today, Justin Verlander (10-4, 2.98 ERA) hopes to slay the long-ball monster that has been his undoing of late in his quest to even the series and win his eleventh game of the season. His mound opponent is Ariel Jurado (5-4, 4.23 ERA) Jeff...
The Crawfish Boxes Jul 13, 2019
Game Preview: July 13th, 2019. Astros vs Rangers.
A hot Saturday night game in God-forsaken Globe Life Park Help!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s not a good sign when the Astros hit four home runs, score eight runs—and lose. Help for the pitching staff, starting rotation, bullpen, help wanted, immediate openings, ASAP. Gerrit Cole was stricken by the home run bug yet again, a contagious malady apparently, as the Astros staff has allowed the 4th most homers in the AL, despite being #2 in strikeouts. Cole himself has allowed 20 home runs this season, 7th worst in the AL, but still better than teammate Justin Verlander, whose 26 home runs allowed makes...
Call to the Pen Jul 13, 2019
What the 2019 Home Run Derby Means for the Current Era of MLB
In some ways, the 2019 Home Run Derby was a microcosm of the state of MLB and where it is likely headed in the future. Here’s why. Before we get into the conspiracy theories from Justin Verlander about juiced baseballs (psst he may be right, but that’s another story for another day..), let’s focus on […] What the 2019 Home Run Derby Means for the Current Era of MLB - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - A Major League Baseball Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
SportsDay Jul 12, 2019
Rangers shut out Astros behind Lance Lynn's 11-strikeout performance
ARLINGTON -- Lance Lynn didn't have his best stuff to start the second half. Then he found it quickly.Lynn mowed through the Astros during a 5-0 Rangers win on Thursday night, tying a season-high by striking out 11 batters in seven shutout innings. He walked two and scattered six hits in 110 pitches. It was Lynn's fourth straight win and fifth straight outing of completing at least seven innings, falling one strikeout short of tying his career high.In the first two innings, Lynn wasn't as sharp, needing 41 pitches to get through six outs that included both of his walks. After the game, Lynn...
The Crawfish Boxes Jul 11, 2019
Astros Crawfish Boil: July 11th, 2019
Start your second half of the season with some of the best Astros links around Check out the rest of the Crawfish Boxes here Astros News Bread Peacock has started a rehab assignment with the Hooks and should be back soon (MLB Trade Rumors)In the meantime he’ll get to play alongside the Texas League Player of the Week, Seth Beer (MiLB.com)Yuli Gurriel’s hot stretch is making all sorts of good problems for Hinch (Houston Sportsmap)The Red Sox may be under performing, but Cole isn’t counting them out (NBC Sports Boston)Apparently Verlander got “chewed out” for speaking the truth...
Cubbies Crib Jul 10, 2019
Chicago Cubs: Justin Verlander thinks differently than Jon Lester
The Chicago Cubs’ Jon Lester doesn’t care if the ball is juiced. But the Astros’ Justin Verlander? He’s not happy about it, and he’s directing his ire towards Rob Manfred. About a month ago, I wrote about the Chicago Cubs‘ Jon Lester and the juiced ball theory. His take? “If it is, just tell us. […] Chicago Cubs: Justin Verlander thinks differently than Jon Lester - Cubbies Crib - Cubbies Crib - A Chicago Cubs Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
